Integration drives rapid phenotypic evolution in flatfishes.

ABSTRACT: Evolutionary innovations are scattered throughout the tree of life, and have allowed the organisms that possess them to occupy novel adaptive zones. While the impacts of these innovations are well documented, much less is known about how these innovations arise in the first place. Patterns of covariation among traits across macroevolutionary time can offer insights into the generation of innovation. However, to date, there is no consensus on the role that trait covariation plays in this process. The evolution of cranial asymmetry in flatfishes (Pleuronectiformes) from within Carangaria was a rapid evolutionary innovation that preceded the colonization of benthic aquatic habitats by this clade, and resulted in one of the most bizarre body plans observed among extant vertebrates. Here, we us

SUBMITTER: Evans KM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8106320 | biostudies-literature | 2021 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature